


Caring for Your Loser: A How-To Guide

by Psyche or like scope (Daiya_Darko)



Category: The Losers (2010)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-30
Updated: 2013-01-30
Packaged: 2017-11-27 14:31:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/663079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daiya_Darko/pseuds/Psyche%20or%20like%20scope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble re: the care of each member of The Losers as demonstrated by Jake Jensen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caring for Your Loser: A How-To Guide

1\. Clay needs to feel in control; he’s CO, after all, and it doesn’t help when things go absolutely to shit.

So Jensen plays dumb after a bad mission; he asks what to do, as if he’s not smart enough to figure it out himself.

“Want me to get in contact with base?”

Clay frowns at him. “No, we’ll do it on person.”

“What should I do then, Colonel?”

Clay thinks for a second before his shoulders start to relax. “Go with Cougar and watch the perimeter. Check in within the hour.” Before he knows it, Clay is barking out orders and his overall disposition is back to its usual stony, sardonic self.

 

2\. Roque is tougher; he needs to feel intimidating, and even though Jensen knows the man can be as harmless as a kitten (maybe a tiger cub), Jensen will still play scared.

So he jabs at him, tests Roque’s anger and swallows audibly when Roque pulls out a Bowie knife and presses the tip against Jensen’s nose.

“If you don’t want a few nose piercings, I suggest you shut the fuck up,” Roque growls.

Jensen shivers and backs up a step. With carefully measured intonation, he mumbles, “S-sorry,” before backpedaling clumsily to the other side of camp.  
Roque finally smiles for the first time since the mission finished.

 

3\. Pooch is a family man, so his needs are a little more specific. It took Jensen a while, mainly because Pooch doesn’t always show when he’s upset, but he figured it out.

Pooch needs to be needed. It’s the reason he prides himself in what he does; the team will always need transport.

So Jensen fumbles with a knot and curses belligerently at it. He’s not really struggling, but he just needs to look it for Pooch to come over and show him how, step by step, to complete the tricky knot.

“Thanks so much, man!” Jensen grins. “I really needed that.”

“Any time, bro,” Pooch pats him on the back and begins looking for things to fix or help with.

 

4\. Cougar is surprisingly simple. He likes to be alone, but with his nightmares, he needs the comfort of another person near by to ground him in the present.

Jensen watches him quietly throughout the day, decides how bad the nightmares will be, and sets up his bedroll right next to Cougar’s. He doesn’t say a word, just presses his elbow through the thick material to nudge his friend and reassure him that someone is there.

When Cougar wakes up fitfully, he burrows into Jensen’s side, face mostly hidden under the top layer, but facing Jensen. He watches him sleep until he’s calm again, and finally drifts into a soft slumber.

 

5\. Caring for Jensen is hard because Jensen doesn’t know how to care for himself. Thus, it’s on the others to figure it out and work as a team to cheer up their tech when he falls into a rut of guilt for not hacking through the enemy’s systems fast enough.

So caught up in trying to help the others, Jensen doesn’t realize what they’re doing until he’s smiling again. They let him help them out of their funks, but they compliment and praise him as they do.

Jensen needs validation; he needs to know he’s good at what he does (or anything at all), and he decides that he’s best at cheering other people up.


End file.
